The CHEF AT THE SHED

I came across this on The Shed website and thought you might enjoy!

Chef Lance Gummere

What is your most fond food memory?

That’s a tough one. I love eating so much! Once in Spain, a chef buddy of mine set up a tour of an Iberico Pig Farm. While we were there, by chance, Manuel Marin, the Mick Jagger of Cured Ham, was also there. He took us to lunch at a street side tasca, which is a tapas bar, and started ordering food like a mad man. We tasted the best of Spain that day, but of all the things we ate and drank, I most fondly remember the sardines fried in Olive Oil washed down with Cruz Campos, cans of cheap Spanish beer.

What got you interested in cooking in the first place?

The television show Three’s Company! Jack Tripper was a chef and lived with two beautiful girls. I wanted that life.

What do you have in your refrigerator at home?

Pork is the staple at home. We always have bacon, some pork sausage and a pork roast for quick sandwiches or a late night meal. You can also find a few dry cured sausages. My sister in law just sent us a salami from Katz’s Deli. That’s thoughtful gift giving!

What famous or infamous person would you like to cook for?

Aretha Franklin would be fun. She seems appreciative. I imagine her enjoying her food and periodically breaking into song throughout the meal.

What is your favorite comfort food?

My wife is from south Louisiana, “down the bayou”, she says. She makes a regional dish called “peas in a roux”. It’s the kind of dish that makes all the tension in my shoulders relax when I take a bite. I ask for it every year on my birthday.

What dish are you most proud of at The Shed at Glenwood?

Unquestionably, the pan fried chicken hearts! Trust me, there was an epic level of begging and pleading with our meat purveyors to find a source. When they called and said “We got ‘em”, I felt like I had just won the lottery! My mother taught me how to eat the heart when I was very little, and it has always been my favorite part of the chicken. It’s a real line-cooks meal. I serve them over a toasted piece of brioche with a fried egg. This dish may not have mass appeal, but those in the know can find it here.